1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of vacuum cleaner attachments and, in particular, to an attachment fitting for cleaning surfaces under appliances and furniture where overhead space is very limited.
2. Description of Related Art
Because of their size and/or shape, it is next to impossible to vacuum clean under most appliances, such as refrigerators, or large pieces of furniture such as sofas, using conventional attachments. Thus special attachments have been developed over the years for such purposes. Of Particular interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,061"Angular Adapter For Cleaning Tools" by E. Leas. Leas discloses a telescoping extension made of small round tubes instead of flat ones to reach under very low appliances and furniture. However, the use of round tubes limits the flow area, for if the circumference of the tubes, it access is limited and If the diameter is small their is little suction produced. U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,529 "Suction Device" by R. Choiniere discloses an attachment with a long hollow flat rectangular member having a flexible accordion section at a first end that is connected to a fitting adapted to couple to a vacuum line from a vacuum cleaner. The opposite or second end is closed off by a wall that incorporates a slit therein. An opening is included in the bottom wall of the member near the second end for picking up did from the floor. Protrusions on either end of the slot insure that an "air" space exists between the floor and the opening. However, its length makes storage difficult and it has no provisions for rotating the member relative to the vacuum line, which makes it difficult to use. Canadian patent numbers 511,102 "Vacuum Cleaner Attachment" and 642,989 "Vacuum Cleaner Attachment" by R. R. Derdall disclose thin flat rectangular members having openings on the bottom surface near one end, while U.S. Pat. No. 986,245 "Vacuum Cleaning Tool" by J. S. Thurman discloses a thin flat rectangular member with openings on one end and the bottom surface thereto. Finally, a problem that exits with all such fittings that have separate end and bottom pickups is the inability to pickup debris that overlaps both openings. What occurs is that it becomes "stuck" between the two openings or is not picked up at all. Also of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 3,244,437 "Adjustable Length Vacuum Cleaner Wand by M. E. Belicka, et al. Here the inventor has incorporated an adjustable length metal pipe segment in the vacuum cleaner hose. However, it is a round tube, instead of a flat blade like structure and is used for an entirely different purpose. It is cited for its incorporation of a manually adjust dente system for adjusting the length of the pipe.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide an attachment fitting for a vacuum cleaner.
It is another primary object of the invention to provide an attachment fitting for a vacuum cleaner that can fit under appliances such as refrigerators and furniture such as sofas.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an attachment fitting for a vacuum cleaner that can fit under appliances such as refrigerators and furniture such as sofas, and also includes magnets for picking up metal items, such as hair pins and paper clips, preventing their ingestion into the vacuum cleaner.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an attachment fitting for a vacuum cleaner that can fit under appliances such as refrigerators and furniture such as sofas that incorporates a common opening in the end and bottom surface contiguous thereto so that the debris that overlaps both openings is picked up instead of being stuck" between the two openings or is not picked up.